S T A T E M E N T
Over the years, my work has come to focus on a contemplative practice allied with the urgency of environmental needs. Phenomenology and nature; how we relate to the natural world with our senses, what emotions they provoke. Texture, colour, tone, rhythm, patterns, shapes; feelings of calm, belong, home. Different scales, perspectives of observation: the astonishing variety of nature. Watercolour has the appropriate smoothness, fluidity and delicacy for representing nature's essence; to create forms that can appear sometimes solid, sometimes thin and delicate as air.
I seek to create with meaning, allowing an emotional appeal that connects people with nature, inspiring for behavioural change and a wiser use of environmental resources, for generations to come.
B I O G R A P H Y
I grew up surrounded by the tranquillity of Ria Formosa landscapes in southern Portugal, which have inspired me ever since. I studied Product Design in ESAD (Matosinhos, PT), and at 23 I started my PhD in Public Space and Urban Regeneration in the University of Barcelona, where I experienced working across disciplines in a daily immersion of four languages, learning from different cultures in its international environment. Throughout time, art, in its multiple manifestations - drawing, painting, writing - has remained a practice of inquiry and awareness, joy and giving. My background instilled me with curiosity, the attention to detail and looking across disciplines for a more complete understanding of reality.
I was a Researcher at the University of Barcelona, and a Professor at the Master degree in Art & Design for Public Space at the University of Porto. I am the author of several scientific articles on culture and urban regeneration; with Isabel Carvalho and Pedro Nora, we edited the book The Economy of the Artist, published by Braço de Ferro in 2010. My work was exhibited in Paris, Antwerp, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto and Azores, among others. I was awarded the 3rd Urban Furniture Prize by the Antwerp City Council & Havenhuis (co-author) and the 2nd National Illustration Prize by the Matosinhos City Council.
Throughout the years, my work has been supported by many institutions: Portuguese Ministry of Culture, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Rectory of the University of Porto, Foundation for Science and Technology, and Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. My artwork can be found in private collections across Europe.
After living in Antwerp and then, in Barcelona for many years, I now live and work in Portugal.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
SOLO
2021 Undeniable. PT/Online
2021 Between the Sea and the Shore. Pop Up Gallery. Faro. PT
PAST SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
SOLO
2020 Inhabit the Body, Live the Place. PT/Online
GROUP
2021 Pigments Revealed. USA/Online
2021 The Mind, the Human-Earth Connection, and the Climate Crisis. USA/Online
2020/21 Crafted & Curated. Through Objects. Copenhagen, DK/Online
2013 Nas Margens. Barcelona. ES*
2011 Nas Margens. Almada City Museum. PT*
2008 Pontevedra Cultural Centre. ES
2003 Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Paris. FR**
2003 Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Barcelona. ES **
2003 Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Madrid. ES**
2003 Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Lisbon. PT**
2003 Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Azores. PT**
2001 XI Illustration and Comics International Exhibition. Porto. PT
2000 Urban design collective. Lisbon. PT
2000 Mail Art. Artes em Partes, Porto. PT
2000 Urban design collective. Lisbon. PT
2000 Objectos En/Inviáveis. Caldeira 213, Porto. PT
1999 Matosinhos City Council, Matosinhos. PT
1999 Havenhuis, Antwerp. BE***
*as part of CRPolis, University of Barcelona | **coauthor, w/ S’A architects | *** coauthor
AWARDS
1999 3rd Prize (co-author), Urban Furniture Award, Antwerp Port Entity and Antwerp City Council. BE
1999 2nd Prize, National Illustration Award, Matosinhos City Council. PT
FUNDING
2020 Ministry of Culture. PT
2009/13 Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT). PT
2011 University of Barcelona. ES
2009 Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (w/Braço de Ferro). PT
2009 University of Porto (w/Braço de Ferro). PT
2000/03 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. ES
1999/00 Portuguese Design Centre. PT
TEACHING & RESEARCH
2009/14 University of Barcelona. ES | Researcher at CRPolis, Art, City, Sustainability, Faculty of Fine Arts
2007/08 University of Porto. PT| Invited Assistant Professor (Project), Master in Art & Design in Public Space, Faculty of Fine Arts
PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
2020 Odyssey (poetry)
2019 Sixty Days of Dawn (poetry)
2009 The Economy of the Artist. Porto: Braço de Ferro (Editor, w/ Nora, P. and Carvalho, I.)
BOOK CHAPTERS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
2020 Artists & Climate Change. New York: The Artic Circle (online)
2015 AACA Digital - Asociación Aragonesa de Críticos de Arte. Zaragoza, Spain (scientific paper)
2015 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (scientific paper)
2009 Archaeology of the urban. Fine Arts Faculty of Porto University, Portugal (book chapter)
2014 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (w/Brandão, A; Castillo, M; Padilla, S.; Pinto, A; Salas, X; Sasa, Z.) (scientific paper)
2011 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (scientific paper)
2011 A Rua de Todos. Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Spain (scientific paper)
2011 VI CIPED, International Congress in Design Research. Architecture Faculty, University of Lisbon , Portugal (scientific paper)
2009 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (scientific paper)
2005 Arq./a, Revista de arquitetura e arte, Lisbon (article)
2000 Public space and Interdisciplinarity. Lisbon: Portuguese Design Centre (book chapter)
CONFERENCES
2011 MUDE (Museum of Design & Fashion), Lisbon. PT
2011 Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. PT
2010 Fine Arts Faculty, University of Barcelona. ES
2009 Fine Arts Faculty, University of Barcelona. ES
2008 Fine Arts Faculty, University of Porto. PT
EDUCATION
2014 PhD in Public Space and Urban Regeneration, University of Barcelona. ES
2000 Post Graduation in Urban Design, Portuguese Design Centre. PT
1999 Product Design Degree, ESAD. PT